Catholic Church in Malaysia Pushes Ahead to Use ‘Allah’

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — The Catholic Church is gearing up for an expected tough fight Wednesday at Malaysia’s highest court when it argues for the right to appeal a lower court decision banning it from using the word “Allah” in its newspaper.

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Malaysian activists pose for pictures as they hold flowers with a Catholic priest, Michael Chua (C) in front of the Church of Our Lady of Lourdes during a rally in solidarity after Malaysian Islamic authorities seized hundreds of Bibles from a Christian group over the use of the word “Allah” in Klang, outside Kuala Lumpur on Jan. 5.

The lower court ruled the word is exclusive to Muslims, who make up the majority of the country. The church counters that it wants to use “Allah” for its Malaysian Malay-speaking members, who for generations have used the word to refer to the Christian “God.”

The decision – which could come on the same day or within weeks — will have far-reaching implications for religious minorities and the news media in the generally moderate Malaysia, where conservative Muslims have been asserting themselves. Christians argue that, while Islam is the country’s official religion, the federal constitution extends significant protections and rights to religious minorities.

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Analysts say that if the ban is enforced, it would violate the religious freedom of Malay-speaking Christians, who use the word “Allah” in their worship. According to the Christian Federation of Malaysia, 64% of Christians in Malaysia have no other language for their Bible, prayer and worship except for Bahasa Malaysia.

“For Bahasa-speaking Christians, the word ‘Allah’ is fundamental. If you are banned from using the word ‘Allah,’ then what is there left for you to practice in your religion?” said Mr. Ng Kam Weng, the research director of Kairos Research Centre, a Christian think tank in Malaysia that supports allowing Christian churches to use the word “Allah.” “Christians cannot correctly represent their faith in the media. They are denied the public instrument for expression of their faith.”

The case comes as Malaysian courts are looking at two other cases related to Christian rights. A court on Thursday is to possibly set a date for a Christian native woman’s argument that she had the right to possess Christian CDs that use “Allah.” Meanwhile, the Borneo Evangelical Church will ask a court to be allowed to proceed with a case arguing it can buy and use Bibles that contain the word “Allah.” The church’s plea had been scheduled for Tuesday, but was postponed until April 3.

“The current court cases can be seen as a litmus test of the level of acceptance and tolerance of a pluralistic society governed by the tenets of the federal constitution,” said the Rev. Hermen Shastri, the general secretary of the Council of Churches of Malaysia, which supports the Christian side in the cases. “In this sense, Malaysia stands at the threshold of a new venture into the future.”

Haniff Khatri Abdulla, a lawyer representing a group siding with the government in the legal dispute over the use of “Allah” in the Catholic Church’s newspaper, said, “We hope the court can look into our arguments and the other party’s arguments fairly and legally and decide on the law without looking at the emotional aspect of the matter.”

Of Malaysia’s 29.6 million people, 60% are Muslim and 9% are Christian.

Celine Fernandez/The Wall Street Journal

An imam leads Muslim demonstrators outside the court of appeal in prayer.

The Catholic Church’s case began in 2007, when the then-Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar prohibited the church’s Herald newspaper from using the word “Allah” on the grounds of public security and public order.

Mr. Syed Hamid argued the word should be solely for Muslims. Murphy Pakiam, who was the archbishop of Kuala Lumpur at the time, filed a lawsuit to overturn the determination. Mr. Syed Hamid pointed to the Home Ministry’s 1986 directive that prohibited non-Muslim publications from using four words sacred to Muslims: Allah, plus Kaabah (a black stone building in Mecca that is the most sacred Muslim pilgrim shrine; Muslims turn in its direction when praying), Solat (a set of prayers performed five times a day), and Baitullah (the mosque in Mecca).

The Catholic Church went to court. In 2009, the High Court found the Roman Catholic Church’s use of the word constitutional. The ruling sparked vandalism and arson directed at both Christian and Muslim properties. The government appealed the High Court decision. Last October, the Court of Appeal overruled the High Court decision, declaring that “the usage of the name ‘Allah’ is not an integral part of the faith and practice of Christianity.”

On Nov. 11, the church filed an application for “leave” — permission to proceed at the nation’s top court, called the Federal Court – to appeal its loss.

Benjamin Dawson, a lawyer on the church’s legal team told The Wall Street Journal, that the key issues include whether the home minister had the power to ban the church from using “Allah” and whether his decision can be reviewed by the court system.

“The central issue in this case is whether fundamental liberties under the Malaysian Constitution are subject to article 3 (1), which provides that Islam is the official religion of the country,” said Mr. Dawson. Among the fundamental liberties are the rights to profess and practice one’s religion and for every religious group to manage its own religious affairs

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